Daybreak
by The Uninspired
Summary: Suddenly, it occurred to him that he had pulled another all-nighter. clerith.


**a/n:** Woo! My first KH fic posted on fanfiction. (:

Just something to feed my need for Clerith fluff, and writing in Leon's point of view.

disclaimer; If I owned Kingdom Hearts, would I be writing this? Probably, but I don't. So there.

* * *

Blue-gray eyes itched at the oddly unwelcoming sight of the sun peeking over the horizon. He groaned, running an ink-smeared gloved hand through disheveled brown hair. The other hand reached shakily for the mug sitting abandoned on the corner of the desk, but when he lifted it, he found it oddly empty. Funny, he thought that mug had been filled to the brim with coffee only a few minutes ago…

Suddenly, It occurred to him that he had pulled another all-nighter.

Mr. Squall Leonhart glanced at the clock on the wall, ticking away happily. It read 5:04, and it was obviously morning. Groaning again, Leon forced himself to his feet, stretching his aching legs. As a wonderful burning sensation shot through his stiff muscles, it became abruptly clear to him just _how long_ he had been sitting at this desk. A barrage of reminders of what Yuffie called 'leadery stuff' soon attacked his mind – he had to write the article for the Committee's weekly column, reorganize the patrols for next week, check the condition of the crane they had to use to fix up the Bastion…Forcefully, Leon shoved these things out of his mind with the thought of one thing.

The life-giving beverage known as coffee.

Stiffly, Leon shoved open the door to his office, breathing in the crisp morning air. He made his way to the new HQ of the Committee – a building in the street behind Merlin's home. It was larger, contained enough rooms for each member of the Committee, along with a kitchen conjoined with a den, and best of all, it kept the elderly wizard off their backs about leaving messes in his house and the such. It wasn't a far walk from his solitary office building – just across the path and down a few yards – but it seemed to take Leon hours to reach the door. He had been scanning the state of the town while walking, and not much had changed. Not that he expected anything to change. The entire Committee knew just how much work would be needed to restore the Garden back to its former glory, and it definitely wouldn't just happen overnight.

Before entering the new HQ, Leon peered into the window. Generally, by this time, Aerith was up starting the coffee, and today was no different. The healer was sure to jump on him if he waltzed into the HQ at five in the morning, with dark rings under his eyes and a dramatic need for coffee, and Leon just couldn't worry her ever since _he_ left – so he needed to be silent. He'd get his coffee, sleep for a few hours, then appear for breakfast late as if he overslept…yes, that would work. When Aerith moved out of sight from the window, Leon made his move. Slowly, he turned the doorknob and opened it so he could just fit through – mentally thanking Cid for always keeping the hinges on their doors so well oiled. He slipped into the den, where he kept his personal coffee pot (so Yuffie didn't drink it all), and, keeping his footsteps silent, risked a glance into the kitchen.

What he saw was a surprise – but not like he expected.

Aerith was standing in front of the sink, her back to Leon, face to the window looking over the Garden. Next to her was a man, approximately as tall as Leon, with pale, messy, spiky blonde hair, and a huge sword belted to his back. His arm was around her waist, but she didn't slap his hand away or scold him – it was just the two of them, enjoying the sunrise.

Leon grinned for the first time in days.

_He_ was back, _Cloud_ was back – that meant a worthy swordsman to spar with (Tifa was extremely difficult to spar with, Yuffie vanished in her cloud of smoke to often, Cid just didn't spar, and Merlin and Aerith purely used magic), another hand to help with the reconstruction, and a genuine smile on Aerith's face again.

Not wanting to ruin the moment, Leon just took the entire pot of coffee with him and snuck out of the building.

Cloud had heard the door close with a soft _click _– but from how tired Leon looked when he saw him pass the window with his coffee, the blonde decided against telling Aerith. It didn't matter now.

He was home.

And all was well.


End file.
